The viral quiet quitting trend is taking hold in finance ¡ª once the industry with the most engaged workers, according to a new study.

The share of workers who said they¡¯re ¡°very likely¡± or ¡°extremely likely¡± to try their hardest to do a good job for their company has waned overall since last year, according to a recent survey of more than 9,000 U.S. full-time or part-time employees by Qualtrics International Inc.

The finance and insurance sector had one of the biggest drops, with about 8% fewer employees reporting willingness to give it their all on the job, matched only by accommodations and food services. That¡¯s a big change from 2021, when the finance and insurance industry claimed the highest share of engaged employees at 94%.

In 2022, education services claimed that title, the only sector with a net gain in workers who said they¡¯re very or extremely likely to try their best. After a 1% bump, it now boasts the highest share of highly committed employees at 91%.

Ben Granger, Qualtrics¡¯s chief workplace psychologist, said that the data likely reflects a confluence of factors, from the ongoing pandemic and inflation to geopolitical crises.

¡°When you step back to consider this volatile external environment that we are in, it¡¯s not surprising that many people are evaluating the role of work in their lives differently,¡± he said in an email. ¡°And for some, that means taking their foot off the gas pedal at work.¡±

But quiet quitting isn¡¯t rampant yet. Across the 15 industries surveyed, only about 10% to 20% of employees of each said they weren¡¯t giving it their all, data from Qualtrics, an experience management and software company, show. That¡¯s much lower than Gallup¡¯s estimate from its recent employee engagement survey, which found that a full 50% of the U.S. workforce could be considered quiet quitters, defined as ¡°people who do the minimum required and are psychologically detached from their job.¡±

The discrepancy can be attributed to the ambiguity of the term itself ¡ª different definitions suggest different measurement methods, and there¡¯s a vocal cohort who thinks quiet quitting isn¡¯t a phenomenon at all.

¡°There are many open questions about how we can actually measure or detect quiet quitting,¡± Granger said. ¡°Its quiet nature makes it naturally harder to measure and this is precisely why organizational leaders are so concerned about it.¡±